King down, more to follow as the pleas roll in weekly

Reena Rose Sibayan/The Jersey JournalJimmy King was last week's headliner for the U.S. Attorney's Office.Last week, Jimmy King pleaded guilty to taking somewhere between $5,000 and $10,000 in bribes as a result of a federal massive corruption investigation. This month, acting U.S. Attorney Ralph Marra has been marching out a defendant or two from the July corruption arrests each week to announce their mea culpas.This is an aside: Why is it that there is not a more specific amount in bribes that King pocketed? Wasn't the money marked, or was there a hole in his pocket?This weekly reminder of corruption in Hudson County (and elsewhere) can't help Gov. Jon Corzine, who is seeking re-election. It can't hurt Republican challenger and former federal prosecutor Chris Christie, who once put away corrupt pols for a living.A week before King, Ed Cheatam, who resigned as a Housing Authority commissioner, and Denis Jaslow, an investigator for the Hudson County Board of Elections, entered their guilty pleas for conspiracy to commit extortion. The most interesting thing said by at least one official about these arrests is that Jaslow should start his own clothing line -- suits with baseball cap accessories (see JJ outside courthouse photos).Before Cheatam and Jaslow came the city employees Guy Catrillo, of the Mayor's Action Bureau, and Maher A. Khalil, of the Department of Health and Human Services. Catrillo and Khalil pleaded guilty to blah, blah, blah, and the usual.POLITICAL INSIDERAn exception to the weekly corruption walk of shame is Leona Beldini, deputy mayor under Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy. She was indicted Aug. 22, along with Ed Cheatam, who resigned as a Housing Authority commissioner. Beldini seems to be digging in those heels while Cheatam gave up the ghost and possibly others.So who is next week's star in Newark? Who feels that the feds have a strong case against them, that they want to get this out of the way, or that putting up a defense would financially bleed them? Are there office pools?Once all the guilty pleas are out of the way, you can expect the weekly indictment announcements. The tougher ones should come late. This would probably include former Assemblyman Lou Manzo, who expects to go to trial, so far. The only thing certain is that the weekly showcase of arrestees should end before Nov. 3.While there is quite a bit of cynicism about the timing of all this, it is still impressive to see how many of those politically connected people who lived or hoped to live off the taxpayer have been lining up to say "guilty."Almost as amazing as those who insist on staying in elected office after being handcuffed and charged.INSIDER NOTES-- Last week, Steven Fulop had another fund-raiser. While the last one was for $25 at the local biergarten, this one was had an open-ended admission price at The Majestic. It means that some people gave three figures and others "donated" the four figures allowed under the law -- and probably drank less suds.-- Although he visited Bayonne earlier Friday morning, Gov. Corzine could not attend the evening barbecue by the Bayonne Democratic Organization at the Chandelier restaurant parking lot. In a surprise, former Gov. Jim Florio made an appearance.-- Blame the error on a cantankerous computer, and some very late night mind-numbing when Saturday's column was submitted. I had a short sentence about North Bergen Mayor Nick Sacco backing Stephen Sweeney for Senate president when everyone in the universe knows he'd rather eat glass and has publicly endorsed incumbent Richard Codey. OK, this time it's 20 sit-ups.-- Question: When will we start hearing about the charities benefiting from Mayor Jerramiah Healy's donation of bribe money funneled into his campaign war chest by those arrested in the July 23 FBI corruption arrests?